Buckle for running webbing.



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Mwug- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRIEND A. RUSS, OF GREENWICH, AND JOHN B. RUSS, OF SHELTON, CONNECTICUT.

BUCKLE FOR RUNNING VJEIBIBING.V

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, FRIEND A. Russ, residing at Greenwich, in thecounty of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, and JOHN B. RUSS, residingat Shelton, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, bothcitizens of the United States, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Buckles for Running l/Vebbing, of which the following isa specification.

This invention relates to buckles of the type adapted to carry theextremity of a webbing and to operate along the running portion to forman adjustable loop, and its object isto provide a one piece sheet metalbuckle of this character through which the running portion of itsattached webbing is passed only once, and which is so strung that whenthe webbing is put under stress or tension the running portion will begripped and held in its adjusted position closely engaging the buckleand presenting a thin, compact and neat appearance.

With this and other objects in view `our invention consists in thedetails of construction and manner of operation more fully described inthe following description and accompanying drawings in which likereference characters refer to corresponding parts.

In the drawings: Figure l is a front view of the buckle showing theattached webbing broken away; Fig. 2 a vertical section of the buckleshown in Fig. 1 the webbing appear ing in full lines; Fig. 3 a verticalsection of the buckle showing the attached webbing relieved from draftor tension; and Fig. 4, a front view of the buckle before the webbing isattached.

The buckle generally comprises a sheet metal frame having an upperportion a, a fiat lower portion l), and a narrow intermediate andtransversely disposed slot c. The upper portion a has its upper edgebent slightly rearwardly of the plane of the back face of the lowerportion for a purpose to be hereinafter described. The lower portion bis further slotted, adjacent to its lowerextremity at d to form a lowersupporting bar e. One extremity of the webn bing is passed through theslot d and folded around the supporting bar e and sewed upon itself bystitches g, g thereby forming a. terminal supporting loop A. Theextremity,

of the webbing being thus supported by the bar e, the running portionpasses down wardly into a lower reach h then returning Specification ofLetters Patent.

Application filed February 4, 1908.

Patented Dec. s, 1908.

Seria1 No. 414,275.

upon itself through a suitable connecting piece B passes rearwardlythrough the slot c and then upwardly into an upper reach 1c. he buckleis struck up from a single piece of sheet metal thin and substantiallyflat so that when the reaches are under draft or tension the buckle willadd no considerable thickness to the overlapping webbing.

When the webbing is slack as shown in Fig. 3, the buckle, due to thewidth of the slot being substantially equal to the thick# ness of thewebbing, has a tendency to set at an angle thereto. In this position theslack ruiming portion may be passed freely through the slot to effectthe desired adjustment relative to the buckle. We find that betterresults are obtained when the slot o is made just wide enough to permitthe running portion of the webbing to be pulled therethrough with veryslight force when the same is slack, for should the slot be wider thanthis the buckle is liable to slip up and down on the webbing. Vhen thewebbing is put under draft or tension, as

shown in Figs. l and 2, the buckle is drawn into a plane nearly parallelto that of the webbing, which causes the edges of the slot c to distortthe running portion passing therethrough, thereby firmly gripping andiolding the same so that it cannot be moved relatively to the buckleuntil the tension or draft is relaxed. By making the length of the slotc equal to and the slot d shorter than the width of the webbing, we areenabled to narrow the width of that portion of the buckle below the slotc so that the same will be substantially concealed behind the runningportion of the webbing passing over the front thereof leaving only theupper portion a and the sides adjacent to the slot o exposed to view.Its exposed portion may be swelled outwardly and struck up to presentsuitable ornamentations and symmetrical lines characteristic to bucklesin general. In this type of buckle the upper or top edge has a tendencyto stand outwardly from the front of the upper reach when the webbing isunder draft or tension leaving a space between the upper portion of thebuckle and the webbing. This is especially true when the upper portionis broad, that is of considerable vertical dimension, and produces adefect which not only renders the buckle unsightly but detracts from itssnug appearance. This defect is due primarily to the fact that it ispractically impossible to draw a buckle strung as described into a planeexactly parallel with the webbing since the buckle necessarily has aslight angular set or tilt as shown in F ig. 2. In our device, however,the upper or top edge of the buckle being bent slightly rearwardlycloses' up on the front of the upper reach and assists in balancing theparts when the webbing is under stress or tension.

By attaching lthe webbing to the lower extremity of the buckle a shorterlength of webbing may be employed than where the same is attachedfurther up on the buckle. This saving of webbing, which perhaps mightappear infinitesimal in the case of one buckle, would amount to aconsiderable number of yards in the case of many buckles and further byattaching the webbing at the lower extremity enables a leverage to beeX- erted upon the buckle when the webbing is put under draft ortension, thereby tending to draw the same further within the planes ofthefwebbing than in those buckles where the webbing is attached furtherup.

By attaching and threading the webbing in the manner above described, weare enabled to utilize a buckle of minimum transverse dimensions sincethe slot c may lbe just long enough to give the required strength to thebuckle, and further all attaching lips and off -set members may beeliminated. lVhen the webbing is not under draft or tension, as shown inFig. 3, the terminal loop `A, being short and closed around thesupporting bar e, has a tendency to keep the lower reach from bucklingrearwardly as is the case when the webbing is free to swing clear of therear side of the buckle from some position below the slot c.

It may be noticed that while the buckle constructed and strung as abovedescribed does not produce an entirely rustless eiect, yet thelongitudinal dimension thereof may be so shortened that only a minimumsurface of the metal will beeXposed on the rear side, and further for agreater portion of its length it comprises only one layer of and a widerand shorter slot disposed below' the irst mentioned slot for the passageof the end of such webbing, the said plate having that portion below thefirst mentioned slot made flat and the portion above vsaid slot bent sothat its top edge will lie rearwardly of the plane of said lowerportion.

In testimony whereof we have 'hereunto set our hands this 17 th day ofJanuary, A.,D;'

JOHN B. RUSS? y l/Vitnesses:

BYRON WV. /VHEELER, STEPHEN J. LEoNARD.

FRIEND A. Russ-.5

